îles, endives & a sleeping beauty

Discovering Paris more is one of the things I look most forward to this year. Since we came here last year, going to town on a saturday has become one of our most loved habits. Often my son starts to make plans friday night, his top three destinations being 1) the Eiffel tower, 2) a particular magasin (shop) where they sell toy trains and steam engines, and 3) a brasserie or bistrot with pommes de terre frîtes on the menu (French fries of course – which however can be hard to find sometimes). Discussions will go on during breakfast on saturday morning, until we finally decide, picking areas of the city that will provide something for everybody.

Sometimes, however, it takes us a while until the die is cast, and we´ll end up hungry again before even leaving the house. Then a day in town shrinks to an afternoon, which also means lunch at home. These have quite often been moments for endives au jambon lately, endives wrapped in cooked ham and baked in a cheesy béchamel sauce. ´It´s a meal my mother used to make during winter, and one I had completely forgotten about. Since I rediscovered it a few months ago, I frequently turn to it, mainly because it´s so delicious and comforting, but perhaps also in an attempt to make up for my injustice. Endives suffer from wrongful underestimation anyway, how could I neglect a dish capable of building them so much of a better reputation? For dessert, I decided to go on with the easy classics, visual analogies not entirely coincidental. Something pale in a pool of something yellow, the sequel: Iles flottantes.

The following afternoon led us to the area around the place des Vosges, one of the oldest squares in Paris. Aside from old fashioned French recipes, I have a weakness for old style Parisian elegance, and the place des Vosges, even when in sort of winter sleep, is such a time- and seasonless beauty. I could spend hours admiring all the pretty details, from the symmetrical dimensions and surrounding arcades, the immaculate pelouse (lawn) and the ornamented fountain to the obligatory statue in the center and the bare trees whose twigs match the brick red facades of the houses. It will be wonderful to come back in spring, when nature and outdoor gastronomy will have come to life again, invigorating the architectural splendor. Even my son agreed with us to return soon, although there were neither French fries nor trains, and not even the Eiffel tower involved in our little saturday trip. A sand box to jump into and, even better, some indignant pigeons to hunt and terrify, that was all it took to make him happy that day.

Prepare the Béchamel sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour gradually, avoiding lumps. Now you have a creamy mix called roux. Pour milk, whisking. Bring to a soft boil, and leave to simmer and thicken for a few minutes, until creamy. Season lightly with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Squeeze out the drained endives to get rid of all retained water (using kitchen paper). Cut about 0.5 cm from the bitter ends. If using, spread a thin layer of mild mustard onto each endive (I personally prefer without though). Wrap each endive with a slice of ham. Place wrapped endives in an oven proof dish.

Grate the cheese. Add about 1/3 to the sauce. Pour sauce all over the endives and cover everything generously with the remaining cheese.

Cook in the preheated oven (180°C/350°F) until bubbling and browned, about 25 minutes.

for the decoration:
100 g sugar
a big handful of coarsely chopped hazelnuts and walnuts

For the custard, bring milk, vanilla pod (with seeds scraped off with the tip of a knife) & sugar to a soft boil. Remove vanilla pod. Using a hand whisk, whisk in egg yolk one by one, taking the pan of and off the heat to avoid curdling. The mixture must be hot , but not boiling. Continue to stir over low to medium heat, until after about 5-7 minutes the custard thickens.

Leave to cool.

For the decoration, melt sugar with 2 tbsp water in a small, high sided pan or pot (medium heat). Don´t stir at that point. After a few minutes of bubbling, the mixture turns amber in color and starts to caramelize. Add the nuts and stir until the sugar crystallizes and coats the nuts thickly. This will take about 7-10 minutes. Spread nuts on parchment paper and leave to cool.

For the islands: In a large bowl and using electric whisks, whisk the egg whites, sugar and salt until stiff, about 5 minutes at highest speed.

Turn on the oven grill.

Pour custard into 2-3 small oven proof recipients. Using two large spoons, place “islands” of egg whites onto the custard. Place under the hot grill for 1 minute or so, until slightly browned. Alternatively , you can poach the islands in milk or microwave them for about 1 minute at medium power.

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32 Comments

Classic comfort food! I have rediscovered the endives recently again, Sabine and I can subscribe every word you wrote. Place des Voges with its wonderful classic brique-et-pierre buildings, sigh. Nicole

I love Place des Vosges, one of my favourite squares in Paris. I often cook endives, they are delicious and healthy in salads or cooked. Actually just made an endive salad with Fourme dAmbert and walnuts for lunch.